Blame
by LadyoftheBirds
Summary: After the harrowing events of Gorizilla, Ladybug finds comfort with Adrien, and questions her trustworthiness.


**A/N: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LIV MADDICS! To my beta, colleague, and best friend, Happy Birthday! I hope you enjoy the combination of my birthday gift and the prompt you gave me. (And hope it soothes the pain of Bakerix being cancelled on your special day...)**

**Bug Out!**

"Come on, Kiaria. You don't want to miss supper, don't you?"

The ravenette's stormy eyes perked up, before glancing up at the tan-haired boy above him. Her body frantically moved throughout her compact, pillowy, space.

"I don't want you to go…" Moore whined. "We barely got to spend time in our blanket fort!"

"Shh kǎi dì." Kiaria interrupted. "Get down here or Mama will see us and I'll have to go!"

Moore's eyes trailed to the ground below. It was tall and menacing. "It's too high, Kiaria!" he whisper-shouted.

"Come on, Kiaria. The sun's setting already! It'll be nightfall before we know it!"

"Moore, jump down already!" Kiaria egged. "You'll be fine! If you don't jump, I won't let you in my blanket fort anymore!"

"W-What if I hurt myself?" he trembled. "I don't wanna die!"

Kiaria sighed, her mother's footsteps growing louder. Staring directly at her playmate, she extended her arms, palms facing the ceiling. "Jump, and I'll catch you!"

"B-But what if you don't?!" Moore gasped as the floorboards creaked in anticipation.

"I know it seems high, but Moore you have to trust me!" Kiaria smiled weakly. Although beads of sweat trailed down her milky skin, she couldn't let Moore know she was afraid. "Please, we can't let her see us!"

The creaking grew even louder as Kiaria's mother's calls grew even more adamant. With one final breath, Moore's grin grew ear-to-ear as he nodded. With one final bound, Moore jumped, free-falling from the enormous tower of pillows. As predicted, Kiaria didn't anticipate Moore's speed or weight and seconds later, the two were a jumbled mess of flesh and bones. Despite the stakes, the two children laughed until their bellies ached; until Kiaria's mother stumbled into the mess that was her daughter and her friend. Even she couldn't help but laugh.

"See, kǎi dì," Kiaria winked between laughing fits. "It wasn't so bad, was it?"

* * *

Ladybug slumped against the gray bricks. It's been almost a week, and the only thing the tabloids could focus on was Adrien Agreste's near-death experience with Gorizilla. Between saving Paris and resisting questions on a daily basis, it was difficult for the bluenette to find some peace in her fleeting moments of rest. Hawkmoth was getting stronger and if Gorizilla hadn't let go, the love-of-her-life could have been gone.

Suddenly, an unknown tear trailed down her cheek. With two fingers, Ladybug wiped them off before examining the droplet of salt and worry on her gloved hand. She was the one who put Adrien in danger. She was the one who told him to jump. If it wasn't for that minor slip-up, it would be her that would be scrutinized and spat upon. Telling Adrien to jump was the stupidest mistake she had ever made. And the worst part was she knew she'd do it again.

As Ladybug's chest heaved and as she buried her sorrowful face in her palm, she heard a small rapping coming from the left. Quietly turning around, her mouth slowly hung agape as Adrien waved at her, gesturing her to come inside. Quickly wiping her liquid sadness off of her porcelain skin, Ladybug launched her yo-yo as she swung in through the window.

While the bluenette tied her weapon around her hip, Adrien quietly stared at the superheroine, enamoured by her beauty. By the time Ladybug finally met the eyes of her lover, the blond had Ladybug's design forever etched in his retinas.

"Your eyes are puffy."

Ladybug quietly, and embarrassingly, laughed, using her palm to wipe her skin. "Oh, I didn't notice."

Adrien weakly smiled back, meeting the bluenette's eyes, which were turned to the side. "Are you okay?"

The spotted heroine absentmindedly nodded in response, much more fascinated by the large windowscape next to her.

"The view here is beautiful," Ladybug smiled, her hand caressing her neck, elbow propped on her shoulder.

"Yeah, it is." he replied. "Despite how often I stare out this window, I sometimes forget how lonely it can be."

Ladybug, mouth agape, turned towards Adrien, studying him, before walking closer to the window. Removing her spotted palm from her neck, she stood on her toes and ran her fingers across the gray concrete slab the lined the entire window.

"It's like a prison." Ladybug whispered, astonished.

"I mean, you get used to it after a bit." Adrian interrupted Ladybug's view, standing between the window and her. "What about you? What's your home like?"

Ladybug bit her lip. Nobody could know anything about her days as Marinette. But this was Adrien, of all people. If she couldn't trust him, she couldn't trust anyone.

"It's warm… and cozy. Sure, I've always been a little jealous of people who have these large, lavish mansions, but… I never imagined that with all the things that could occupy a place, it could never be so…"

"Empty?" Adrien finished, leaning against the slab. "I know you probably changed the subject for that reason, but why were you crying earlier?"

Ladybug glanced away, unconsciously wrapping her fingers together. "I was thinking about the battle with Gorizilla."

"What about it?"

"I told you to jump, and you trusted me. But… what if Gorizilla didn't drop me? What if you fell to your death? What would happen to your family? They would be devastated! And it would be my fault."

As the bluenette buried her face into her hands, Adrien tenderly pulled them from her face. "I trust you more than anything. And you can't blame yourself. Hawkmoth was the one who got Gorizilla akumatized, and you made the right choice. If I hadn't jumped, we might have never gotten free! There was no way you could have predicted Gorizilla to grab you."

Ladybug bent her head down, a small smile etched from her lips. "Why would you trust me? You barely even know me."

"Because," Adrien stroked her chin. "I love you more than anything. I may not know who you truly are, but I know you have a good heart. And if it's any consolation, no matter what would have happened, I never would have blamed you."

Ladybug glanced down at Adrien's finger before staring at his emerald eyes. Inching closer, their lips were centimeters apart. As they took in each others' breaths, their bodies moved ever so closely before their lips met in a spark of passion. As the kiss prolonged, every shred of sadness and loneliness faded away as the only thing that remained was love. Breaking the kiss, face still close to his, Ladybug whispered, "Spots Off."

In a brief explosion of rose-colored light, Adrien stared at his classmate, her bluebell pools awaitingly staring at him. Before she could react, Adrien mumbled, "M'lady," before meeting Marinette once again for a passionate kiss.

**A/N: I am definitely proud of this piece in writing terms. And honestly, it feels appropriate for it to be dedicated to the girl who started it all. Thank you for everything, Liv. No words can express how grateful I am for giving me a platform to express my creativity. All I can hope for is to be as supportive to you as you have been towards me.**


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